It is almost difficult to believe that a new era of music from the late '70's and early '80's has experienced a revival period so many years later. For me, this is exciting, and I'm thrilled!

This genre of music began as new wave and has now been broken down into several categories that include minimal wave, synthpop, electropop, and others.

In this article I'd like to feature my favorite band and now, considered pop culture items, my set of vinyl LP records from minimalist duo Trek with Quintronic. Warning! I'm biased. :)

I'm particularly attached to this era of music, as I was raised in it. For me, this revival is no surprise, as I have always been a fan and appreciated the electronic synthetic sounds coming into the music world. My ears have always thanked those who were the first pioneers in creating this genre of music.

I've sat and observed band practices, recording sessions, and shows and concerts almost practically since my birth. Why? -because "Trek" of Trek with Quintronic is my father. I am extremely proud of my father's journey and accomplishments in music, and I happy to share the Trek with Quintronic story with you here. See, I told you I was biased. :)

Landing and the Black Album

Here's my personal set of the original albums.

These two albums are on their way to surviving three decades, and they are considered rare collector items. Therefore, I'm not about to completely tear away the protective film.

The guy peaking out with his hand on his hip is daddio. That's my dad, Paul Wilcox, a.k.a. Trek.

Dave, Quintronic, playing keyboards live. I always loved his racks of keyboards.

Introducing Trek with Quintronic

...if you don't know this pioneering duo

Trek with Quintronic was one of the first pioneers of new wave and electronic music in the world, and they were almost the very first within the United States. They have been labeled as "the grandfathers of their music genre."

The genre would later be further defined or labeled as minimal wave, synthpop, electropop, among others. (There are so many drilled-down genre labels for music these days. I can't keep them all straight, and there is much overlap!) This highly talented duo would help pave the way with other notable pioneers for all electronic music you hear today revolving around new wave, darkwave, post-punk, gothic, and other similar genres that have an electronic feel.

Trek with Quintronic is Paul Wilcox and Dave Kane. They are both from Buffalo, New York. My dad, Paul is "Trek," and Dave is "Quintronic." The name came about when my dad decided to "trek" along with "Quintronic." Dave had started a musical personal project. He gave himself the name Quintronic. Dave and my dad decided to pair up. Hence, Trek with Quintronic. Paul walked along with Dave in music. See. Pretty Clever.

On both albums my dad played the guitars, synth-guitars, pedals, wrote the lyrics, and sung the vocals. Dave plays all keyboards. Dave is an awesome synthesizer, keyboard, and piano player. He was back then, and he is to this day!

image credit - A few years ago, I was given a xerox photo of Dave playing keyboards live during a Trek w/ Quintronic show. I was given a lot of these photos to try to salvage and clean up. We needed any old memorabilia we could find for an upcoming re-release collector's edition CD. Old yellowing paper with poor quality xeroxed photos and coffee stains was nearly impossible to clean up. Here is one of the end results. At least, it looks "minimal." :)

I Can Usually Find Trek w/ Quintronic on Amazon

-which still blows my mind to this day

I have to say that it's pretty wild to see your own Dad's stuff on large sites such as Amazon or eBay. Trust me, it's weird for my dad too. We've talked about it many times. It's weird.............. but great! :)

My dad explains today that he had no idea this style of music would be recognized at all let alone have a revival period. He was only ever happy and grateful for being part of something where creativity and imagination were involved.

Currently, one can find the original vinyl records from '80 and '81, the re-released CD for Anna Logue Records as well as the new released vinyl of this year from Dark Entries. :) Pictured here is the Vinyl from Dark Entries Records out of California.

"Landing" and "The Black Album"

Two Albums Released, One in 1980 and the Other in 1981

Trek with Quintronic released two LPs. The first was "Landing," released in 1980, and the second was "the black album," released in 1981. The black album has no title and simply reads "Trek w/ Quintronic." Therefore, it's simply referred to as "the black album", and "Landing" is usually referred to as "the white album."

I remember my dad handing me my copy of "Landing." I was in 4th grade, and was I ever so very completely happy and proud. I was only 10 years old. I took it to school straight away and showed my teacher, Mr. Parker.

Mr. Parker asked if he could borrow it. To my amazement, Mr. Parker loved it. Looking back I would have surely pegged him for an upcoming new-waver easily. However then, he was just my teacher ( eheh sorry, Mr. Parker), and I was a bit shocked. After all, it was a completely new style and genre of music. I remember being very happy and excited that he liked it.

Mr. Parker ended up borrowing my album and recording the songs for himself. Later, when I told my Dad, he was laughing and shaking his head at the same time. "Perhaps, your teacher could have bought one?," was my Dad's comment.

I remember watching my dad and Dave write and play the songs that would be on the next album the best. I was a little older when these songs were written, a time when we can remember most childhood memories.

Two songs I particularly remember liking the best were "Wally and the Rich Kid" and "Zolian Space." I loved these songs (still do). The story behind "Zolian Space" is quite comical. Perhaps I'll share it here within this article at some point. It's just one of those things that you're not sure if "you had to be there." :)

I've included "Wally and the Rich Kid" and "Zolian Space" below for you to give a listen to. (Thank you to the fans who uploaded these songs on YouTube.)

"Wally and the Rich Kid"

A favorite song from the black album

Once I discovered that Trek w/ Quintronic was getting recognition and that there was a whole movement with reviving this type of music, I started to wonder if I could find my Dad and Dave on YouTube. Guess what? I did!

I check about a couple of times a year, and sure enough, more and more fans are uploading their favorite Trek w/ Quintronic songs. We have no idea who these people are. So, a big heart felt thank you!!

"Zolian Space"

Another song from the black album

-"...they've got a little white pill so you won't get old ...." could have been titled "Zoli in Space," as the song was inspired by all the times of hanging out with Richard Zoli and listening to his crazy theories. ehehe (Hi Richard!)

I've determined that this is probably the most loved song by fans.

Friendly Fan Quote:

"AMAZING SYNTH POP ........... 1981 gems that are as timeless now as then!!! Paul Wilcox & David Kane actually played all the instruments, no pods back then!

These guys have been called the "'Grandfathers of synth-pop'"

The Story of Discovering the Revival of Minalmal Wave and the Respect and Credit Given to Trek with Quintronic

26 years later I discover world-wide fans

Twenty-six years later after the first album was released in 1980, I discover there are fans all of Europe, Canada, The United States, and South America.

Sometime in 2006, I did a random search online to see if Trek with Quintronic was getting any attention. I'm not sure what inspired me to do this. It was impulsive, and I realized I had never done it before. After 2 seconds of searching, I almost fell off my chair!

There were links leading to comments by people who were trying to collect the original albums. There were reviews and several people wanted to know what the heck happened to these two guys who were, "the grandfathers of electronic music" and who were "way ahead of their time." I was shocked. (If you ask me, they are still way ahead of their time in 2013. If you give the music a listen, you'll understand why.)

I wanted to shout to everyone, He's right here! I know where there are two unopened boxes of records - one for each album, 25 per box!, and Oh My Goodness, thank you all!" ehehe :)

I think I was most amazed by the number of different countries that were home to Trek w/ Quintronic fans. People from Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Holland, Israel, Russia, Canada, Brazil, the United States were talking about Trek w/ Quintronic. It's now 7 years later from my initial search, and the list has grown.

Trek with Quintronic on eBay

January 9, 2014 update - Ever since the new re-release of Trek w/ Quintronic through Anna Logue Records, Trek with Quintronic items on eBay have been selling quickly. Continue to check though, as I've already discovered sellers posting the new cd re-release. The original albums in vinyl will become harder to come by. They are both now considered "collectibles." Because of this, I've decided to keep this part of the article live.

One of the Funniest Things I've Found to Date - eBay Sale - "condition, never been played"

I found this video earlier on. I had completely forgotten about this 45. It predated both LPs. My dad had almost forgotten about it too! I can't even imagine who this person is let alone how he ended up with a copy. There were hardly any made at all.

The part that makes my dad and I laugh really hard, especially when I was showing him this video, is the part when the guy says "never been played." ehehehe We were both like, "Hey! What do you mean it's never been played!" >.< (Yes, I do realize that having never been played adds to the collector value. -wonder how much it went for?)

It's the one thing I'd really like to get my hands on!

By the way, the person the man is referring to in the video is my uncle.

Old Photos and Memorabilia

Click thumbnail to view full-size

part of a one and only photo shoot - My dad hates having his photo taken. This must have been dreadful and hard for him. eheh

My son with grandpa's two albums.

from left to right - Carl Cino, Paul Wilcox, Dave Kane (Look at how young they look!)

Dad

Dad

playing out

love this picture of Dave - too bad I just wasn't able to restore these photos

another good one of Dave - He had quite a rack of keyboards

magazine write up

the other half of the magazine write up - How minimal/new wave does this look! :)

@Tom Maybrier: How wonderful. I'm so glad you like it. -also glad to see it coming around again in California. :)

Tom Maybrier 3 years ago

Wow this is awesome! I love early 80s minimal synth/coldwave! It's having quite the renaissance here in California. These songs are great!

Author

Melanie Wilcox 3 years agofrom Pennsylvania, USA

@shay-marie: Thank you so much Shay :) I just re-read it, and I have some typos to fix -never ending editing. I'm glad you like it, and I'm glad there is now this niche on Squidoo.

Shay Marie 3 years agofrom Southern California

Woo! What a great article! I'm thoroughly jealous of your awesome family! I'd never heard of Trek with Quintronic until I read this, and I'm happy that you brought them to my attention. Their music is right up my alley. I'm pinning it to come back and explore some more...

Author

Melanie Wilcox 3 years agofrom Pennsylvania, USA

@djed-on-flashback-alternatives: hello again :) -glad you were able to track down marc :) Thank you kindly for purchasing it, liking it, and playing it on your station. That is all really wonderful and highly appreciated.

djed-on-flashback-alternatives 3 years ago

@MelanieKaren: Was able to track down Marc. Disc ordered. Looking forward to receiving it.

djed-on-flashback-alternatives 3 years ago

@MelanieKaren: Sorry - hit Post before I was done writing. I'll try Marc on his Facebook page. Hopefully I will be able to get a copy. Glad to see another label is interested in a re-release. Early 80s Minimal-Synth / New-Wave is my favorite genre of music - and I try to keep that music alive on my station. Thanks again, and Happy Thanksgiving.

Author

Melanie Wilcox 3 years agofrom Pennsylvania, USA

@djed-on-flashback-alternatives: Hello and nice to meet you :) At the moment, I do not. I do know that Marc Schaffer of AnnaLogue records gets busy with his other work not related to music. Here's his facebook link. https://www.facebook.com/marc.schaffer1?fref=ts You may be able to reach him there quicker. I will also contact my Dad. I don't believe he has extras at this time. I will double check though. Also, there is a label in San Francisco that has asked to also re-release Trek w/ Quintronic. My dad and Dave have given them the green light, and currently, my dad is working in his studio sending files back and forth to this label company. I know I wasn't of immediate help, but I hope I have been somewhat helpful. I will keep you posted. -and yes, Wally and the Rich Kid has always been one of my favorites too! :)

djed-on-flashback-alternatives 3 years ago

Hello. Do you know if there is anywhere else I could purchase a copy of Landing Plus? AnnaLogue Records has been unresponsive. I love Wally and the Rich Kid, and would love to add more T w/ Q to my internet station, Flashback Alternatives.

Thanks

Ed

anonymous 4 years ago

@anonymous: Marc knows most ever band and genre...He didn't recognize this name. He hasn't been to Toronto...spent most of his life in B.C.

Author

Melanie Wilcox 4 years agofrom Pennsylvania, USA

@Cynthia Haltom: Hi and thank you for visiting this article. :) It's usually a hit or miss. The style of music isn't by any stretch top 40.

Author

Melanie Wilcox 4 years agofrom Pennsylvania, USA

@anonymous: Hi Karin :) Thank you for visiting this article! If Marc ever spent a good time around Toronto and was into this style of music, he may very well have. My Dad's cover of "When I Was Young" hit a chart then as number 79 for the world. ehehe

anonymous 4 years ago

When Marc gets home from work I am going to ask him if he knows Trek music, I will report back later, I bet he does!

Cynthia Haltom 4 years agofrom Diamondhead

Unfortunately, I haven't heard of them, I will have to ask around to see if any of my friends or relatives know about them.